Education

The Lancaster County School District held its annual celebration of excellence luncheon Tuesday, inducting three new members to the Lancaster County School Hall of Honor and also recognizing more than 350 students and 44 retiring teachers.
Thelathia Bailey, Joseph Gregory and Martha Noblitt were all inducted posthumously into the hall of fame.
The families and friends accepted the awards for Bailey, Gregory and Noblitt during the ceremony at Second Baptist Church in Lancaster, many fighting back emotions and grateful for their loved ones’ induction.

Sheriff’s deputies showed up at A.R. Rucker Middle School Friday morning in response to rumors that someone was planning a shooting at the school.
School district Safety and Transportation Director Bryan Vaughn said the rumors sparked an investigation but turned up no evidence.

Nearly two months after fire blackened Andrew Jackson Middle School, students, teachers and faculty jammed the halls again Tuesday morning, delighted to be back home.
“It’s been wonderful to be back,” said Kelly Phillips, assistant principal at AJMS. “There’s been a lot of excitement in the air. A lot of people have been commenting on how bright the school looks and how clean the walls are.”
Steve Mann, a seventh-grade math teacher, said everyone was relieved and eager to get back to normal.

The Lancaster County school board Tuesday night named Chris Timmons the next principal of Andrew Jackson Middle School, which should reopen next week after extensive fire repairs.
“I’m beside myself, to be honest,” said Timmons, who will replace the retiring Daryl Hinson at the end of the school year.
Timmons is currently the assistant principal at Buford High School. He was the assistant principal at Buford Middle School for eight years, before being moved to the high school in September 2017.

USC Lancaster’s Native American Studies Center has received a $10,000 donation from OceanaGold/Haile Operation, which will sponsor four speakers for the monthly Lunch and Learn programs, held the third Friday of each month in the center’s galleries.
The four Lunch and Learn programs include:
◆ April 20: Dr. Katherine Osburn, Arizona State University, “The ‘Identified Full-Bloods’ in Mississippi: Race and Choctaw Identity, 1898-1918.”

The Lancaster County School District has installed a new emergency alert system that can send information to parents, teachers and students instantly via text message.
“It’s very similar to what’s used on university campuses. That’s the model we’re after,” said Bryan Vaughn, the district’s safety director. “This give folks immediate info, and it’s good because I can access it anywhere… whether I’m on the side of the road, in a classroom or in the middle of a situation.

Lancaster County is targeting a $112,000 grant to build sidewalks near Indian Land Middle School on River Road, a move to address student safety.
A 300-signature petition pushing the S.C. Department of Transportation to install sidewalks was given to the school district in November. Signatures were collected by concerned Indian Land Middle parent Pam Houge.
SCDOT got involved and the Lancaster County School District was on board with the petition.

The mascot of the new Van Wyck Elementary School will be the Eagles rather than the Braves, after the Catawba Indian Nation and other community members objected to the school board’s initial choice.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday night to change the mascot after a meeting with Catawba Chief Bill Harris and the school’s naming committee.
“[We] realized our effort to honor and pay tribute to the Catawbas would actually do the opposite,” said Superintendent Jonathan Phipps.

Andrew Jackson Middle School’s plan for a two-week, $1 million fire cleanup has ballooned into perhaps six weeks and $3 million.
“The latest date we’ll reopen is the Monday after spring break, April 16,” Superintendent Jonathan Phipps said. “Of course challenges could arise that we can’t foresee, but we’re confident we can open by then.”

Students and teachers filed silently out of classrooms at Andrew Jackson High School at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Some leaned against doorways. Kids sat on the floor with their knees up to their chests, heads buried in crossed arms. The only sound was sniffling, as many, including several teachers, fought back tears.
For 17 somber minutes, AJ mourned the 17 students and faculty shot to death Feb. 14 in Parkland, Fla.